A slight improvement in the mental health of the French was observed in mid-May, with a "significant decrease" in the proportion of the population suffering from depressive states for the first time since the fall, Public Health France announced on Friday.

19% of those questioned declared a depressive state, according to the survey carried out by the health agency between May 17 and 19, against 22% during the previous wave of this study, carried out from April 21 to 23, period of strict restriction measures (limitation of travel, closure of schools and shops, etc.).

The effect of lifting restrictions

This decrease coincides with a stage of lifting of these restrictions, on May 19, with the reopening of all shops, cultural establishments and terraces of cafes and restaurants.

"This remains higher than what we observed before the epidemic," said Public Health France, however.

The proportion of French people evoking depressive states, which hovered around 19% during the first confinement, fell to less than 11% during the summer of 2020 before rising again from October and reaching a record level of 22, 7% in February.

These disorders are measured using a standardized fourteen-question questionnaire, commonly used to screen for anxiety and depressive disorders.

The mental health of the French remains degraded

"The mental health of the people questioned remains however degraded without significant evolution on the other indicators (satisfaction of life, states of anxiety, sleep problems and suicidal thoughts)", adds Public Health France.

80% of respondents thus state that they are currently satisfied with their life (i.e. 5 points less compared to the level outside the epidemic), 21% suffer from an anxious state (+6 points), 64% mention sleep problems during the last eight days (+14 points) and 8.5% had suicidal thoughts during the year (+4 points).

People with a very difficult financial situation, students and women are part of the population profiles with particularly degraded mental health.

Less hostility to the vaccine

In this survey carried out regularly since the start of the epidemic, the agency also highlights a continuous decline in the proportion of the population hostile to vaccination against Covid-19.

“The proportion of participants declaring that they did not intend to be vaccinated thus decreased from 31%” at the end of April “to 24%” in mid-May.

This change in vaccination adherence affects all age groups, while half of the adult population has now received at least one dose of vaccine.

On the other hand, “only 47% of parents of children questioned would intend to have their children vaccinated if a vaccine was available”.

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